The official press denied that hunger was the reason why Cubans practice fishing off the coast of Havana, where they recently caught a enormous specimen of blue shark or dyer.
“Cubans do not fish for sharks because ‘they are hungry’, shark fishing is practiced worldwide and this particular species is caught for its meat and fins in developed countries, despite calls and agreements for its conservation,” he said. Cubadebate in an attempt to “deny” the comments that the news of the capture of the shark in Havana unleashed.
Likewise, he denies that the presence and capture of sharks on the coasts of Cuba is “something alarming” and that the sharks are being more aggressive.
“Sharks are not ‘daringer’ nor is there any greater danger in the waters. The ocean is their home and their presence is a sign of the health and balance of marine life. All workers of the sea should know that sharks are not enemies,” the text stated.
In the same way, it indicates that shark fishing is not illegal in Cuba since most of the species are not protected by national laws.
Regarding the species, he assured that it is a blue shark, also known as a blue tooth according to the official nomenclator of fish species in Cuban waters.
“Fishermen here call it Maira and in other areas it is known as mako or short-finned mako,” the note added.
the usual criticism about lack of fish in the markets on an island surrounded by sea, which now leads to Cubadebate to produce a text on sharks, led the vice minister of the Food Industry last month to affirm that the lack of fish in shops is due to the lack of fish in Cuban waters.
In the midst of the food crisis, his statements contradict the news about the Cuban fishing industry, which talk about oversupply of exportable products and precariousness of the domestic market.
Last April, for example, it was learned that the Cienfuegos Industrial Fishing Company (Epicien) exceeded the shrimp, crab and lobster catch plans, intended for the international market; and they failed to comply with finfish fishing and aquaculture commitments for the consumption of the country’s population
